This invention relates generally to nerf bars for mounting to the side of vehicles to help prevent damage to the vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a nerf bar that can be mounted to a vehicle that has a unibody construction.
Nerf bars have been used to protect the sides of vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans, from damage and to provide a step to assist an occupant when entering or leaving the vehicle. Frequently, such nerf bars also are employed as a decorative feature to enhance a vehicle's appearance. Nerf bars usually are produced to fit a specific vehicle and are mounted to the rigid frame of the vehicle. In vehicles utilizing body-on-frame construction, the frame is made of steel and designed so that the body of the vehicle is mounted on top of the rigid frame. Because trucks frequently employ this type of construction, prior art nerf bars have been designed to be mounted to such frames.
In contrast to body-on-frame construction vehicles, unibody frames are stamped out as part of the vehicle structure. Although body-on-frame is the preferred construction method for heavy-duty commercial vehicles (especially those intended to carry or pull heavy loads, such as trucks, vans and some sport utility vehicles), a trend is developing towards utilizing unibody construction for some of these vehicles. For example, the Ford Transit van has unibody construction. However, existing nerf bar designs for body-on-frame vehicles cannot be used for unibody construction vehicles. Such nerf bars mount to a large C-channel frame member, which is located roughly 20 inches from where the nerf bar is positioned. This creates a large lever, which requires a strong attachment point and frame to support the load. A unibody frame, however, consists of much lighter materials. Consequently, installing a nerf bar to a unibody frame using the technique described above would likely result in deformation of the body at the attachment points.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a nerf bar that can be used on vehicles of unibody construction to provide protection from damage to the vehicle body during a side-impact collision with an object such as a pole.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a nerf bar that can be relatively easily removed and replaced if the bar is damaged.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a nerf bar that can be mounted to the body of a vehicle of unibody construction with minimal modification or drilling of the body so as not to affect the integrity of the body.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a nerf bar that is not left or right-side specific, i.e. that can be used on either side of a vehicle.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.